Water spider



May 2, 1944. v. 8. MOORE ETAL WATER SPIDER Filed Dec. 26, 1940 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 IN VENTOR N m W N A 5 RB 0 W p MN w P H L mm ms May 2, 1944. v. B. MOORE :rm.

WATER SPIDER Filed Dec: 26, 1940- 4 Sheets-Sh'egt 2 IN VEN TOR V/RG/L 8. MOORE BYSTEPHEN 7' Q m m y 1944- V.-B. MOORE EiAL 2,347,959

WATER SPIDER I Filed Dec. 26, 1940 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 V/pg/L 3, MOORE INVENTOR STEPHEN e TSONEFF A TTORNE Y- May 2, 1944- v. B. MOORE Ei-AL 2,347,959

WATER SPIDER Filed Dec. 26, 1940 4 Sheets-Sheet V R IN VEN TOR IR STEPH N I? TSONEFF ATTORNEY Patented May 2, 1944 WATER srnma Virgil B. Moore and Stephen P. Tsonefi, Los Angeles, Calif., assignors to American Marine Engineering Corporation, a corporation of California Application December 26, 1940, Serial No. 371,688

3 Claims. (Cl. 114-665) Our invention relates generally to water craft adapted to travel on the surface of the water, and more particularly to craft which are especially adapted for use in warfare.

In modern naval warfare, it is important to provide defense units which may be used when regular warships are not available, and which may also be used in restricted areas and under conditions where the larger vessels are at a disadvantage. As a result, various navies have adopted or considered the adoption of small high-speed motor boats popularly known as mosquito boats. Our invention is concerned with a naval vessel which we term a water spider, which may be used for similar purposes, but which possesses many advantages not had by any other craft now available.

It is the major object of our invention to provide a small, high-speed surface vessel of great stability and maneuverability.

inFig. 2 showing the method of connecting a leg to its respective pontoon;

Fig. 7 is an end elevational view of the pontoon connection taken at 1- -1 in Fig. 6,

Fig. 8 is a cross-sectional view of one form of shock absorber which may be used in our invention; and v Fig. 9 is a horizontal section of the leg-pontoon connection, taken at 99 in Fig. 6.

Referring now to the drawings, and particularly to Figs. 1-5, it will be seen that our water spider consists generally of a streamlined fuselage or body portion Ill, supported fore and aft by independently mounted vertically movable legs H, l2, l3 and M. The lower ends of said legs are pivotally attached to pontoons l5, l6, ll

It is also an object of our invention to provide I such a vessel which may be used under conditions so severe that other craft are immobilized.

Another object of our invention is to provide a craft which has a maximum of destructive power and requires a minimum crew.

It is a further object of our invention to provide such a vessel which may be'quickly and easily produced in large quantities and at a very small cost.

One of the distinct advantages of a boat of this type is that it provides a relatively small and very elusive target, and consequently is adapted for rapid thrusts at a larger and more powerful enemy.

These and other objects and advantages of our invention will become apparent from the following description of a preferred form there of, and from the drawings illustrating that form, in which Fig. 1 is a plan view of our improved craft;

Fig. 2 is a side elevational view of said craft, with the bow or forward end to the left;

Fig. 3 is a partially broken away section showing the interior of the fuselage along the line 3-3 of Fig. l;

Fig. 4 is a front elevational view of the craft as itappears in calm water;

Fig. 5 is a view similar to Fig. 4, but showing the action of the legs when encountering a lateral wave or swell; in both Fig. 4 and Fig. 5 the portions of the craft to the rear of line a-a in Fig. 2 have been omitted for the sake of clarity; V

Fig. 6 is a side elevational view taken at 66 and 18, respectively, which may be of the general type used on hydroplanes, and support the entire weight of the craft when it is at rest. The body is carried well above the water by the elongated legs which are spread relatively far apart at their bases, so that the craft has the general appearance of a water spider. By this type of construction an exceptionally high degree of lateral stability is given to the craft, enabling it to be turned sharply at high speeds without danger of capsizing.

The water spider is propelled by an airplanetype propeller 20 mounted at the rear of the fuselage l0, and is provided with stub wings 2| and Zla which help shield the propeller from spray while at the same time providing a certain amount of lift. The wings also provide space for gasoline and oil tanks, thus permitting the fuselage H] to be made smaller and more streamlined, which decreases its vulnerability as. a

target.

Considering now the details of these parts, the fuselage I0 is preferably similar to an airplane fuselage, and may be of a semi-monocoque'or shell type construction of high-strength aluminum alloy. As is customary in this type of construction, transverse frames are provided which are connected together by longitudinal members, and over this framework is applied the skin or shell. The body [0 may be divided into various compartments by means of shear-resistant bulkheads 22, which provide additional. torsional stillness, and water-tight doors may ,be provided in these bulkheads to allow members of the crew to pass from one compartment to another. I

In the forward compartment-.13 is mounted a retractable searchlight 24, and immediately aft of this compartment, is the 'gunners cockpit 25.

Here is located a light cannon 25, such as a 3'7 m. m. for example, swivelly mounted so that it may cover a wide range, and in addition there are provided the minimum controls necessary to operate the craft, in case of emergency. Behind the gunners compartment 2-5 is the pilots compartment 21, provided with a complete set of controls and instruments used to operate the craft; and to the rear of this compartment is the cargo space 28. The cargo space may be filled with depth bombs 29, or may be used, to carry soldiers, equipment, etc. In back of the cargo space we provide a'mech'anics compartment 3!, provided with an anti aircraft gun 3 2 and a minimum set of operating controls, while aft of the mechanics compartment 3! is the engine compartment 33 containing the engine 3 3.

pedoes 46 also permits a trap door 4! to be opened to allow the depth bombs 29 to be dropped.

To secure the maximum stability and maneuverability for which our craft is designed it is essential that the pontoons be vertically movable with respect to the body, and in our preferred form of craft as illustrated herein we mount the pontoons independently of one another in such manner that their vertical movement is all in a plane which is at a substantial angle to the longitudinal axis of the fuselage. By independently mounting the pontoons we make it possible for each pontoonto individually accommodate itself -to the contour of the water at its point of contact therewith, withoutessentially affecting the position of the body. To further stabilize the v craft and facilitate the Vertical movement of the The sides of all crew compartments are prefer:- 4

ably covered with armor plate, and it is to be understood of course that the relative position and equipment of the various compartments is given by way of example only. i

Over the top of each of the crew compartments we'provide a transparent cover 35 orplastic or other suitable material which maybe pushed aside when the occasion demands. These covers have the effector decreasing the wind resistance of the craft and at 'the'same timekeepin wind and spray from the crew'members.

Motive power for the water spider is provided by means of the airplane-'type'pusher propeller 29 located at the stern of the vessel, and having its center near the top of thec-raft to a-voidas much spray as possible. 'With the propeller 29 in this position, it iso-f course necessary'to previde-some means for transmitting the power from the engine 34 whose crankshaft is normally off set from the propellerhubyand to accomplish thls, wetpref er to use two sets of bevelledgea rs and an intermediate vertical drive shaft (not shown); In this manner; it is-possible to utilize an engine whose most efiicientflspeed is different frornthe speed of maximum elficiency'for the 3 propeller. Inthis connection, we prefer to use 'a'variable' pitch propel'ler; andjit is advisable to use one whicnmay be put into reverse pitch to aid in navigating harbors, inlets, and the like. The engine 34-may be oi any convenient Y style, but ispreferablyliquidcooled to' permit maximum rs efl r m .q i e sel- H The fue l supply for'th e craft may-be carried in tanks ,(not shown)- 'built'in the stu-b Wings 21' and 2 m and providedwitlr a leak pr'oof' lining to prevent the loss of fuelif the tan-kis punctured. As previously mentioned, thewings 2| andZI'c act as shields to reduce. the amount of spraystrikingthe propeller 2B,,and .also provide a certain pcntoons we attach them to the body in such manner as to cause them to move vertically with substantially no lateral rotation about their individual'points of attachment to the legs, and with a minimum of horizontal movement with respect to the'b'ody.

Since all of the pontodns are preferably attached to the 'bodyin'th'e same manner, "we will only describe one leg Structure in detail (the right front leg looking at the craft'head on),'it being understood that this description likewise appliesto the other legs.

In this form of our invention the means for attaching the pcnto'ons to'the body consists'essentially of a jointed leg comprising a'laterally extending normally horizontal member 42, and a vertically positioned upright member 23, said members being'hiriged' at their point of connection. The lateral member 32 is hinged at its inner end to the body I6, and the upright member l3 is hinged at its "lower'end'to the pontoon IE. it will be understood of course that these members may be m'aderela'tively massive if des ired, employing for example I-beams with their riar'rowedgeiacing'forward. However, we pre- Qferi to form themas' trusses," employing high quality'seamless tubing as illustrated in the drawmgs.

H In the structure illustratedthe lateral memberflfinstead of beingfasingl'e massive member, is formed of two upper" tubes "42 and 42a, and two lower tubes 42band 420, all 'of the same length and rectangularly positioned with respect to' eachj other. Likewise the upright member instead of being formed of one piece,

7 is fabricated Of two vertical tubes43 and'43a amount of lift for the vessel, when it is traveling. I

The liftis usually relatively small, but may of course be incre'ased by increasing the size of the wings or theirangle of attack."

The craft is steered bymeans 'of an air rudder 33; preferablyassociated with a vertical finST as isjcustomary in airplane "construction. The rudder and' fin'provid'e' the principal "control means, butit is also advisable to provide additional steer ing, ,mea'ns consisting of rudders I on the stern "of the'rear floats IT and l-Bi'to be described later.

Torpedoes @lfljjof any suitable" type may be suspended beneaththe body of the vessel as shown, and they should be mounted near the nose oi thepcraft to balance'it properly and to decrease the effe to-fthe' turbulence caused byithemon' the rudder 36'. "Thisforward mounting" ofthetcrconnected together by horizontal tubes 43b-and l3c and cross braces 44.. The lower portions of the uprightinemb'er tubes'43'and' l3a are bent forwardlyjand outwardly'as indicated by the numerals" 43d" and 43, these parts converging toward each other "and joining at their "lower ends adjacent their point of connection to" the pontoon l6. It'will'be understood" oi'coursethat all fouroi the'l'ater'a'l'ly extending tubes 42; 42a, 42b and 320 are hinged at their innerends to "the fuselage, and at" theirouter' 'ends to the upright truss'formed'of tubes 43; tam-tea and He to give a knee actionfefiect. j

From an inspection of Figs? 21and 5'it will'be seen that the hingepoin'ts'oi the" upper" and lower lateral members '42'and 42b are vertically aligned so that a"parallelogramis formed whose horizontal sides are the members themselves, andwhosevertical s'idesarethe body H] and the upright member 43. By this constructionithe upright i3 is maintained in vertical position no l'nat'ter how 'the" parallelogram is deformed (see Fig. and the pontoon l6 need not rotate about its own longitudinal axis to always-present its full bottom surface to'the water.

Since the legs II, I2,- l3 and 14 are pivotally connected to the body Ill and of course are not restrained by the water from moving laterally thereon, it becomes necessary 'to provide additional supporting means to maintain the body and the legs in their normal position with respect to each other, i. e. in the position shown in Fig. 4 of thedrawings. Thisadditional supporting or stabilizing means should also. beresilient in order to allow the legs and their associated pontoons to assume different vertical positions above and below the normal in adapting themselves to uneven water conditions such for example as illustrated in Fig. 5, where the right leg and pontoon are riding the crest of a wave, and the left leg and its pontoon are in a trough.

Our preferred means for accomplishing this resilient supporting of the body consists of a shock absorbing tension strut 45 whose inner end is hingedly connected to the body I!) adjacent its base and preferably at the hinge connection of lower lateral member 42b, and whose outer end is hingedly connected to the upright 43 preferably at its point of connection to upper lateral member 42. While a single tension member vl5 may be used, we prefer to employ a similar member 45a running from the body hinge of lateral member 420 to the top of upright member 430.. By reference to Fig. 5 it will be seen that when a pontoon and its associated leg are moved upwardly, the tension struts 45 are extended to form the longer diagonal of thedeformed parallelogram, and when the float and its associated leg drop below theirnormal position, the tension strut is compressed since it is then the shorter diagonal of the deformed parallelogram. In the first case it is necessary that the strut 45. tend to return the members to their normal position by pulling downwardly on the leg, but in the second case (i. e. where the pontoon has dropped into a trough) the weight of the body will tend to normalize the structure as soon as the water becomes level again.

To provide the rapid and positive action which is necessary to stabilize the craft at high speeds, we prefer to make the shockabsorbers 45 of the spring type such as illustrated in Fig. 8, it be ing understood that other forms, such as hydraulic and compressed air types may be used if desired. In the form shown, the shock absorber 45 has a lower arm portion 55 with a cylindrical housing 51 at its upper end, the housing being open at its upper end and having an internal shoulder 52 adjacent its opening. An upper arm portion 53 extends into the housing 5| and is provided with an external shoulder 54 at its lower end. A compression spring 55 surrounds the arm 53 between the shoulders 52 and 55 and urges them apart, thus making the member 45 as a whole a tension member. To provide cushioning for the arm 53 when it reaches its limit of inward travel we provide cushioning spring 56 which is interposed between the closed lower end of the housing 5| and the inner end of the arm 53. The spring 56 is normally smaller than spring 55 and while highly desirable is not essential. We prefer to use a compression type spring for the main spring 55, since if it breaks the broken ends ,will bear against adjacent turns of the spring, thus shortening its length but otherwise permitting it to act as before.

As previously mentioned, at the lower ends of the legs ll, l2, l3 and I4, we provide pontoons I5, l6, l1 and 3 respectively. These pontoons are preferably of heavier construction thanthe customary hydroplane pontoon, since they are subjected to much severer service and since they are in continuous use instead of intermittent use. The principles underlying their construction are the same, however, and they should be designed to support twice the amount of weight they will normally carry. The floats l5, I6, I! and [8 are pivotally attached to thelegs ll, l2, l3 and f4, respectively, so that they may turn a limited amount about a horizontal transverse axis but not otherwise, thus'making it possible for each individual float to adjust itself to the contour of the water surface and eliminating the danger of a fioats nosing down into a wave. To provide a restoring moment which will return the float to its original position, we prefer to use the connection shown in Figs. 6, 7 and 9, the protective boot being removed to show more clearly the various members.

Each of the legs terminates at'its lower endin a rocker 65! which has a pair of downwardly concave outer shoulders 65a and 50b and a depending central portion 600 shaped as a minor sector of a circle with its radial edges facing downwardly. The rocker 66 is mounted for rotation on a transverse axle 62 extending between a pair of upstanding side plates 6! and Ela which are parallel to the longitudinal axis of the pontoon and are rigidly fastened thereto through the medium of a base plate 63. The above mentioned parts are assembled so that the curved shoulders 60a and 68b bear and rotate on the side plates GI and 61a respectively, and the center of the sector 650 is adjacent the base plate 53. The sector is preferably proportioned so that it can rock about 15 either side of vertical before one of its lower radial faces engages the base plate 63 whereupon further rotation is prevented.

To provide the required moment to restore the rocker 6G to its normal position we utilize a resilient member 64 which may be constructed like the tension struts 65, but is preferably formed with a simple compression rod 64a pivotally mounted to the base plate 83 and slidable within a cooperating cylinder S ll) against a compression spring 640. The cylinder "64b is pivotally mounted to one end of the rocker head 60 as seen best in Fig. 6. A similar restoring member 65 is connected to the other end of the rocker 60 and base plate 53 to provide the restoringmoment against rotation of the rocker in the reverse direction.

To aid in steering the craft, especially at slow speeds, we provide rudders .5 on the rear pontoons I7 and I8, these rudders being controlled by the same means which controls the main rudder 36. The pontoon rudders are of particular use when the flow of air past the main rudder 36 is insufiicient to permit it to control the craft.

The connections of the legs H, [2, l3 and M to the pontoons l5, l5, l1 and I8, respectively, are covered with flexible water-tight boots, as are all other exterior pivoted connections, and suitable means are used to prevent electrolytic action at joints between dissimilar metals.

The unusual construction of the water spider, and particularly its knee action legs, permits it to be used under conditions which would prohibit the use of conventional craft. The use of the independently mounted legs which are provided with shock absorbers provides a much smoother riding vessel, and this permits more accurate aiming of theguns and torpedoes, and allows the crew members to perform their duties more efiioiently, since strain and fatigue are greatly reduced. While there will undoubtedly be some weather conditions in which our"water spider cannot operate, these same conditions will likewise immobilize conventional vessels, while on the other hand the fwater spider" will be able to operate under many conditions which are too severe for conventional boats.

-As an example of the performance to be expected from our invention, the following are the calculated characteristics of a water spider,having agross weight of 11,000 pounds, the results being calculated for both an eight hundredhorsepower engine and a onethousand horsepower engine: Performance summary Eight hundred horsepower:

High speed 76.1 M. P. H.-

a 66.1 knots Cruising speed (75% power); 64.2 M. P. H.-

55.8 knots Endurance-high speed 6 hours Range-high speed 466 miles Endurance-cruising speed 8.9 hours Range-cruising speed 589 miles One thousand horsepower: High speed 84.8 M. P. H.-

'73.? knots Cruising speed (75% power) 73.3 M. P. H.--

- 63.7 knots Endurance-high speed 4.8 hours Range-high speed 415 miles. Endurancecruising speed 7 .12 hours Range-cruising speed -i 533 miles These performance characteristics, combined with the great stability of the water spider, its economy of manufacture and operation, and its versatility, render it a valuable addition to the armed forces of any country, and also make it useful in Coast Guard work during peacetime. While we have shown and described a preferred form of our invention, it will be apparent that modifications maybe made in the form and arrangement of parts without departing from the spirit of the invention, as defined in the following claims.

We claim:

1. A water craft which includes: a body; a plurality of pontoons capable of supporting said body; jointed legs attaching said pontoons to said body. to support the body above the water, each of said legs comprising a laterally extending normally horizontal member hinged at its inner end to said body for movement above and below its normal position, a vertically positioned member hinged to the outer end of said lateral member and extending downwardly therefrom, its lower end being hinged to one of said pontoons, thereby allowing vertical movement of said pontoon with substantially no horizontalmovement thereof with respect to said body; and resilient means connecting said legs tosaid body to support the body in normal position.

:2. A water craft which includes: a body; a plurality of pontoons capable of supporting said body; jointed legs attaching said pontoons to said body to support the body abov the water,'each of said legs comprising upper and lower laterally extending normally horizontal members hinged at their inner'ends to said body for movement above and below their normal positions and hinged at their outer endsto the upper portion of a vertically extending member thereby forming a parallelogram with said body, the lower end of said vertical member extending downwardly and outwardly from its hinged connection with said lower lateral member to connect with one of said pontoons thereby allowing vertical movement of said pontoon with substantially no horizontal movement thereof with respect to said body; and resilient means connecting said leg to said body to support the body in normal position.

3. A water craft which includes: a body; a plurality of pontoons capable of supporting said body; jointed legs attaching said pontoons to said body to support the body above the water, each of said legs comprising a laterally extending normally horizontal member hinged at its inner end to said body for movement above and below its normal position, and a vertically extending mom ber hinged to the outer end of said lateral member and extending downwardly therefrom to one of said pontoons, whereby upon rotation of said leg about said body said pontoon will move vertically with substantially no horizontal movement; and means associated with said legs and body tending to hold them in normal relationship.

VIRGIL B. MOORE. STEPHEN P. TSONEFF. 

